This month’s Science for Policy Newsletter launches the EGU’s new Science for Policy Award and the Climate Hazard and Risk Task Force! It also highlights opportunities to apply for a traineeship inside the European Parliament, be inspired by real-life examples of science for policy initiatives, and take a glance at the news from the Arctic, including a summary for policymakers on climate change in the area and an open letter by the research community for the Central Arctic Ocean.

If you have any further questions or comments about policy opportunities that exist for scientists in Europe, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Best wishes,

EGU’s Science for Policy Team

This year, EGU is launching a Science for Policy Award that recognises researchers, knowledge brokers, and policymakers who have strengthened the European science-policy interface, or significantly contributed to the integration of scientific evidence into the European policymaking processes. This award is a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge the work that you, your team, or a colleague has undertaken on the science-policy interface and demonstrate pathways to policy engagement!

This award will be open to both individuals and teams, and while the candidate’s science for policy achievements should be focused within Europe, the candidate(s) can be resident outside Europe, and/or non-European citizens. You can read more about this award here and the nomination procedure here.

The deadline to submit a nomination is 15 June 2025.

In October 2024, the EGU Council approved Climate Hazard and Risk as the 2025-2028 Policy Priority Area due to its relevance to many EGU divisions, current and future policy significance, and the need for information and continued scientific support in the creation of new European legislation and initiatives. As Europe’s largest geoscience society, the EGU is uniquely positioned to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from research into practice and to connect policymakers to the most relevant geoscience experts!

To facilitate this and support evidence-informed policymaking, EGU has recently established the EGU Climate Hazard and Risk Task Force formed by an open call and competitive selection process! The 10 selected experts cover a range of relevant scientific disciplines and skills and will be supported by a group of external experts.

You can view the group and follow their work here.

The call for European Parliamentary Research Service Traineeships is currently open. These five-month traineeships are offered through the Robert Schuman Programme and include positions in a range of different areas.

These traineeships are a fantastic opportunity for researchers interested in supporting evidence-informed policymaking and helping to integrate science into the policymaking process. They are also a great way to build networks and connections.

You can read more and submit your application here until 31 May 2025 for a traineeship that starts on 1 October 2025.

Skills4EOSC (Skills for the European Open Science Commons: creating a training ecosystem for Open and FAIR science), has recently developed a Science4Policy Kit that provides real-life examples of Science4Policy initiatives. It offers a collection of case studies of initiatives and activities that have been created by organisations that can be used to train or inspire others!

The Science4Policy Kit categorises initiatives into 10 different types - from science for policy pairing schemes to hackathons! It also highlights different tools, methodologies and good practices that help integrate science into policymaking.

Read the full toolkit and be inspired here.

Arctic climate change update: Summary for policymakers

Earlier this month, the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) published updated summaries for policymakers addressing key environmental issues in the Arctic: climate change, plastic pollution, and radioactivity.

The Summary for Policymakers (SPM) highlights urgent trends, including significantly increased wildfire activity and ocean acidification rates, while also outlining actionable recommendations to guide decision-makers in responding effectively to these challenges.

You can read the full Summary for Policymakers here.

Open letter from the research community

Developing on the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement, an open letter from the Arctic research community has just been published, calling on decision makers to work together to agree to pause the start of all forms of industrial activity in the Central Arctic Ocean, while cooperative research and appropriate governance systems can be developed.

If you are interested, the letter can be read here.